Day 9 : Herbology

The loud sound of a large feline purring filled the Gryffindor common room, staring emptily at the ceiling, a white haired girl gently caressed the fur of the large matagot covering her whole body with its long, soft hair.
Sensing her friend's melancholy, the usually small cat-like creature shifted into its large form and jumped into the bed, covering the pale human with its warm fur, it was now purring, nuzzling its face against its friend's and sucking on the sheets like a kitten.
Mechanically caressing the fur keeping her warm, Margaret reminisced about their meeting, how she fished a frail kitten out of a river, how it suddenly turned large to drive away a menacing drunkard... It took some convincing but there was no way she could leave her home without Margot, she needed her friend's comforting purr, and her friend needed its "mom".
The two cuddled for more than an hour, Margaret whispered to her friend, scratching its neck, caressing its beautiful coat...Both desperately wanting the large creature to go and wanting the embrace to never end. Finally satisfied, the matagot shrunk back and quickly jumped off to its "nest" under the window.
Stretching slowly, Margaret checked her clock, she had to meet professor Garlick today but she had plenty of time ahead of her, like most students she liked the week-ends, but mostly because the castle would be emptier.

Quickly checking her corner of the room she made sure yesterday's gift had kept its anonymity, with a relieved sigh she left the room in silence, like a well-oiled machine she repeated the same steps every day: Basin, clothes, hair, apple, lake. The thought filled her with dread, as if she was a mere spectator of her own life.
Sitting on the pier, bare feet in the water, her body satisfied from its routine, she stared in front of her emptily, alone with her thoughts, as the sun slowly rose. Imagining the other students daily lives crushed her heart, their smiles, their friends, their love, their tears, all things that seemed so far out of reach.
The few people that treated her like a normal person were now tiptoeing around her thanks to her father and she felt even more like an outsider. She hated that she couldn't even make up her mind about whether she liked things or not.
Feeling cold inside, she dried her feet before slowly standing up and walking towards the Greenhouse.

It had been a while since she last visited this part of the castle, it was thankfully empty today and the warmth felt good despite the lack of air.
Quickly scanning the large room she spotted a place where she could relax under the sun, she carefully circled the tree and sat down, almost completely hidden, before closing her eyes, basking in the warmth.
Margaret unexpectedly dozed off against the tree, looking peaceful; it was very unusual for her to fall asleep anywhere but in her bed but the accumulated fatigue and stress were too much and her body took what it needed with no regards for her comfort.

Waiting for her student, Professor Garlick yelped in surprise when she found the girl asleep against the tree, almost completely out of sight, the woman's heart sunk as she felt intense sadness at the scene, imagining the worst.
Gently pulling on the hem of the girl's robes the woman whispered "Miss Megamelons? Hello?" she slowly opened her green eyes, feeling a splitting headache she answered slowly "I'm sorry Professor..."
"What happened to you! You're covered in dirt and sap!" Professor Garlick waved her wand, clearing the girl's robes before pulling out a handkerchief and rubbing the girl's face.
Margaret stayed silent, waiting for her teacher to speak up in a rather long awkward silence. Professor Garlick cleared her throat and invited her inside the classroom, to her desk.
"You've already shown me your Herbology skills so I will only give you an assignment" she said, handing out parchments and seeds "I hope growing these will lift your mood a little, my dear..." she said, looking sad.
"I'm sorry, Professor, don't worry..." answered Margaret, bagging her homework "Have a nice day, Professor, thank you." she bowed and quickly left in silence.
The woman looked at her leaving the room with a sad look on her normally happy face.

As the large doors to the halls opened in front of her, Margaret's eyes met with Professor Weasley's "Oh my, out so soon? I was just on my way to see you." she said, surprised.
"Hello, Professor Weasley" bowed Margaret, behind her, Professor Garlick left the classroom, still looking sad.
"I..." stammered the old lady, disturbed at the sight "I have news, young miss. I wanted to introduce you to the Room of Requirement but it seems a student has been locking herself inside, preventing everyone else from using it." she said, joining her hands "Instead, with the approval of the Headmaster and thanks to your parents, you will be allowed to use this portkey to quickly travel between your home and Hogwarts." she handed Margaret a key she was familiar with.
"However, you are only allowed to go there when you would be allowed to use the Room of Requirement." she frowned, thinking of the problematic student bunkered inside said room.
"Of course, Professor." said Margaret. Feeling like she wouldn't get more out of the girl, she handed her a purple book named "Da Rules" before excusing herself.

Now alone in the Greenhouse, she firmly grasped the small key before whispering the password. The world started spinning wildly, or perhaps it was her that was spinning, and she suddenly appeared in the Landing Room.
It was large room dedicated to portkeys and apparition, with everything you could need from bathroom appliances to food and potions, on the ground, a large yellow circle indicated the area where people appeared.
She sighed in relief as she finally felt completely relaxed, at home, safe. Her mother's spells took great care of their beautiful home, the interior was pristine and well decorated. She felt a little sad when she realized her mother wasn't home but she knew her dear pets were waiting for her, she nuzzled her face against their phoenix, cuddled with the kneazles and grabbed a fruit from the basket before making her way to the backyard.

Giving a quick kiss to the Cowplant, she traversed the lush garden used by her mother on the way to her miniature greenhouse: her own secret garden.
The inside of the small object contained a wonderful meadow where she grew magical and non magical plants alike, she painstakingly grew most of them without magic but her recent awakening had allowed her to turn her hard work into a paradise with large trees and flower fields.
Enchanted tools were taking care of it in her absence and the diligent girl bowed "Hello" to every single one of them as she made her way to the storage shed to grab pots for her homework.
The seeds planted, watered and whispered to she reminded herself to grab a handful of soil that she stored in a jar, she would do the same in her house's real garden, mixing the two and shaking the jar, she returned to her greenhouse and bagged the now fully grown plants and prepared herself to leave for Hogwarts.
Writing a note to her mother, she grasped the key again and she found herself in her bed at Hogwarts. Feeling a little woozy from the trip, she walked to the basin to splash her face before sitting down in the large couch with a heavy sigh.

Expecting to find Professor Garlick at the Greenhouse, Margaret briskly walked through the Castle, the halls were thankfully empty, with most students playing outside, visiting Hogsmeade or hanging out in their dorms.
Unable to find her teacher, she left a note on the classroom's door and left for the lake, intending to take her mind off things with a bit of exercise.

Meeting a certain Hufflepuff girl by chance, Margaret handed over the jar of dirt and accompanied her to the lake in silence.
Nodding goodbye to her companion, Margaret walked towards the pier as the Hufflepuff slowly walked into the lake, fully dressed, eliciting a concerned glance from the Gryffindor.
Sighing heavily, the melancholic girl sat down, holding her head with both hands, she lost herself in thoughts for a while, enjoying the sounds of the lake.
"Oh dear..." said the approaching Professor Garlick, a basket of plants in her hand, expecting to find her crying "Are you alright?"
Still holding her head, Margaret answered "I'm fine.", she stood up shakily before turning around "Ah, Professor, I was looking for you." Margaret presented the fully grown plants to her teacher, who was now smiling widely, eyes shining "Oh my, wonderful job!" she exclaimed, the girl thanked her with a nod.
"Congratulations on a job well done miss Megamelons, points to Gryffindor!" she smiled before adding "I won't keep bothering you, have a nice day young miss." feeling like the girl needed more space.
"I'm sorry." said Margaret, sitting back down, as the uncomfortable woman left.
"Whatever." she thought.